Zhongbo Ren was born and raised in China. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy with a BFA in production design in 2017. After one year of practical exercise, Ren decided to pursue an MFA degree in scenic and production design. While a student, he did several short films and music videos as a production designer and art director, some of which have been selected by the Apex Short Film Festival and the DGA Student Awards, among others.